


The Enemy Within

by ParzivalHallows



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Nightwing (Comics)
Genre: Child incubus!Dick, More warnings possible for future chapters, Multi, So basically Dick is a child-teenager in these, Will add relationships and characters later on as the story goes by, takes place in the late 1800s
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-19
Updated: 2016-05-31
Packaged: 2018-06-09 11:13:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6903544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ParzivalHallows/pseuds/ParzivalHallows
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dick Grayson was born an incubus, and Bruce has to try his best to protect Dick after he takes him in. How will Dick's life play out as an incubus? Will he be able to control himself, or will he meet his doom? </p><p>A series of related one-shots.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> "Where there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you" - African Proverb

“Dick is a demon,” it was the first words that passed through Bruce’s mouth after C.C. Haly answered the telephone. It was the first time he’d said it out loud, and the thought made him shudder. He was still having trouble processing this. He didn’t want it to be true, but… but he needed someone from Dick’s past to help him make sure. He’d adopted Dick at the age of eight once his parents took a fatal dive from the trapeze. Dick was ten now, and he’d been living in the manor happily with Bruce Wayne and their most loyal servant, Alfred. They had other servants of course, but Alfred was the one who took care of them emotionally as well as just bringing them tea when they needed it.

 

Bruce had expected Haly to laugh, exclaim that Bruce must have been drunk, and was therefore completely surprised when Haly simply sighed. “So, you found out?”

 

“… It’s true?” It came out little more then a whisper.

 

“Yes, it is. He’s an incubus to be exact.”

 

“… There’s more than one type?” Bruce hadn’t really paid attention in school, because he hadn’t _actually_ believed in demons and angels. He grew up pretending that he loved God and hated the devil to appease the nuns, but really he thought a flying spaghetti monster was more practical. Guess he’d been wrong.

 

Haly nodded, although Bruce couldn’t see it. “I believe it would be best if we spoke about this _in person_.” He stressed, and Bruce couldn’t help but to agree. He straightened, “Yes of course. That would probably be best. Where should we meet?”

 

“How does Newton sound?” Haly sounded cautious, and Bruce knew why. That was almost directly across from where the accident had happened. “Yes… yes that sounds fine. Can you make tomorrow morning?”

 

“I can. I’ll see you tomorrow morning, Mr. Wayne. Good night.”

 

“Yes… yes goodnight.”

 

The phone’s line went dead as Haly hung up, leaving Bruce to listen to the buzzing sound that happened afterwards.

 

“…Bruce?”

 

Bruce slammed the phone down, whipping around and staring at Dick. Dick was pale, paler then Bruce had ever seen him, and there were dark circles under his eyes. He had been like this for the past week, when… when Bruce found out. He didn’t tell Dick yet, because he didn’t know how to handle the situation. He didn’t know what to do about it. He wasn’t sure if he should run in the opposite direction screaming, or try to make him be good. The truth was… he was scared. “D-Dick.”

 

Dick frowned at him. “Who were you on the phone with?”

 

“I… just a gentleman that was interested in some business with Wayne Enterprises.”

 

“Oh…” Dick peered over his shoulder at the clock. “At 1 am?”

 

“I… yes. This happens quite often,” Bruce lied. “And… you should be in bed. You are ill, Alfred would throw a fit if he saw you walking around.”

 

Dick yawned. “Alright… I am becoming rather tired anyway. Goodnight Bruce.” Without another word he headed back up the stairs, trudging and slowly – so unlike how he usually was. Bouncy and full of energy. It looked as though it had all been sucked from him in the span of a week. A part of Bruce felt pity, but another part was just plain terrified. _Tomorrow morning I’ll have my answers,_ he assured himself, although he didn’t feel any better. _Tomorrow morning._

* * *

 

_Next morning_

 

Bruce waited impatiently on the bench, before doing a double take recognizing a man who was walking towards him as Haly. He got up swiftly from the bench and shook his hand. “Good day, Haly.”

 

Haly dipped his head. “Well met, Mr. Wayne. I believe you have some questions for me regarding Dick?” His voice had lowered and he looked around, making sure they were alone. He needn’t have bothered, Bruce had already triple checked four times. “It’s only us.”

 

Haly looked a bit relieved. “Good. You… might want to sit down.”

 

Bruce walked back over to the bench and took a seat, looking at Haly with questions swimming in his eyes. It felt weird for Haly to look down on a man as powerful as Bruce Wayne, so he took a seat beside him instead. “Ask away.”

 

“Is he dangerous?”

 

Haly gave him a serious look. “He is dangerous. But isn’t any man?”

 

“You know what I mean. Is he a _threat?_ What do I do with him?”

 

It was almost amusing to see how quickly Haly’s face went from serious to furious. “Mr. Wayne, with all due respect, he is still a child and the same one that you have raised for two years now.”

 

“But he’s not, he’s a _demon.”_

Haly sighed. “I know that this must be hard for you, but imagine how much harder it is for Dick. Dick has no idea what he is, he knows lore and believes of course – as any boy should – but he was never informed of his… species.”

 

“He doesn’t know he’s a demon?” Bruce asked, baffled.

 

“It happens around the time that they go through puberty,” Haly said. “They’ll start showing signs. At least, that’s how it is for sex demons –“

 

_“Sex demons?”_

 

“Incubi and succubi,” Haly clarified. “Dick is an incubus.”

 

“…” _So my son… this_ demon _is a sex demon. Terrific._ “What… what does that mean?”

 

“Sex demons usually… they have sex with a person and drain that person’s life span. It’s how they feed. It may kill the person, but if the incubus or succubus knows what it’s doing, or… was raised properly,” Haly added meaningfully, “then the human won’t die.”

 

Bruce could do nothing more than stare at the man. _This… this can’t be true. Dick wouldn’t be capable of that._

“Has Dick been sick recently? Not eating? Tired?”

 

Bruce managed to nod. “Yes… yes he refuses to eat any meals. Not even our best servant could convince him. He’s been extremely tired, hardly leaves his room. He looks worse and worse each day… it was worrying. We have called professional doctors, but according to them he was completely healthy.”

 

Haly nodded like this made sense. “It’s because he’s transforming.”

 

“Will he… um… I… I saw him the other day. It’s how I found out… he was observing himself in a mirror, I did not understand why until I saw… he had a tail. And his eyes were… they were glowing. And I could swear that there were small horns poking out of his hair. This all sounds so crazy…” Bruce put his head in his hands for a moment before collecting himself and looking back up at Haly. “Were Jonathan and Marilyn… demons… as well?”

 

Haly nodded, “Jonathan was an incubus and Marilyn was a succubus. They… they were going to help Dick through his transformation. It’s always hard on the little ones, but… they died before they had the chance to. Whoever this was knew that they were demons – a hunter most likely – because they laced –“

 

“Hunters?” Bruce cut in.

 

“Yes… they hunt down demons. Demons like Dick,” Haly stressed. “They’ll torture and kill them, they’re ruthless. It does not matter what age or appearance they have, a hunter’s job is to eliminate the demons.”

 

Bruce was silent for a moment. “I… do not wish for Dick to be killed. Even though he is a demon he… well, he is my son.”

 

“You’ll protect him then?”

 

Bruce nodded, “Yes. I will keep him safe from Hunters. What about priests –“

 

“Priests are in league with hunters. You must _not_ tell anyone associated with the Church. If you do, you’ll only suffer Dick’s painful death sentence.”

 

Bruce took a deep breath. “Okay… I won’t tell anyone then. If it’ll keep him safe. But… I don’t know what to do still. Why did he not tell me?”

 

“He was probably scared. He thinks of you as a father figure, Dick saw how cruel the world was when he was sent to the orphanage until you adopted him. If you reject him… he won’t have anybody that he cares for.”

 

“That’s not true, our servant Alfred-“

 

“Alfred is not his father.”

 

Bruce fell silent, thinking this over. “He’s only ten. You said demons feed off of… having sex?”

 

Haly grimaced. “This… sickness that he’s in right now. It’ll last for a few months at least. He’ll start to eat again, but it won’t taste the same. It will all be flavorless to him. People will… start to notice him. Incubi and succubi give off pheromones that cause desire and in some cases infatuation. If someone were to make a move on him, I doubt that Dick would resist. Ten or not, sex is just food to him. He won’t understand that he shouldn’t be doing this. You have to make sure that he knows it’s _wrong._ It’s not only Dick’s safety, it’s also for the other persons. He does not know how to hold back, he’ll have been starved and wants to eat as much as he can.”

 

“Dick isn’t a killer,” Bruce said immediately.

 

“I know that,” Haly said carefully. “But this isn’t normal sex. Remember, he’s eating. He won’t know what he’s doing, and I’m sure that the guilt would crush him once he’s out of his trance. You can’t let this happen to him Mr. Wayne.”

 

“I’m not an… incubus. I can’t teach him.”

 

“I’m not an incubus either, but I can tell you everything I know about them. What you do with this information is your choice, but make the right one Mr. Wayne. Know that he is still a child, capable of learning, and he’ll most likely want to learn from the person he trusts the most.”

 

Bruce nodded after a while. “Tell me everything.”

 

“Not only will Dick feed too much off a person, but he is also only ten, and as a father you shouldn’t let anyone try to… approach him sexually. It will happen, there’s not anything either of us can do about that, but if Dick knows that it’s wrong then he won’t do it. You need to tell him that it is not acceptable. Make sure that he listens.”

 

Bruce nodded, “I would have anyway.”

 

“Good,” Some of the strain disappeared from Haly’s face. “Some may be a bit more… insistent then others. Some of the times, people don’t take ‘no’ for an answer. Incubi and succubi have a natural defense system for this – and it could turn very deadly. You’ll have to teach him how to use his power, not to kill, but to be able to defend himself.”

 

“What power is this?” Bruce asked, almost curiously.

 

“They can manipulate minds, but only if this power is invoked. Human minds are fragile, they can shatter easily. Hunters have trained themselves to put up barriers to keep an incubus or succubus from attacking them mentally, but it can be used defensively as well. Just enough of a nudge to give the person a crippling headache, it’d last no more than a few minutes, but it would give him enough time to get away if he needed to. But if he used the power with his full potential, it would be like driving a dagger through the person’s head with them surviving. They’d be a vegetable at the worst and in constant pain at the best. If this were to happen, death would be preferable. Dick has to master not to hurt them, just enough to paralyze them for a few moments.”

 

“What if a few moments isn’t enough?” Bruce asked in concern.

 

“Believe me, it will be. Incubi and succubi – especially succubi – are stronger and faster then they appear.”

 

Bruce nodded, “What else is there?”

 

“A sex demon may bite someone during sexual intercourse, it’s called a Devil’s Kiss.”

 

“… Bite someone?”

 

“Once he gets older, Dick will start to grow fangs. The pheromones from his body will direct themselves into his fangs and put his bed partner in a state of bliss and lust. It may sound nice, but these bites can be dangerous. Humans can get addicted very easily. It’s like a drug.”

 

“… I see. So Dick should not use this… Devil’s Kiss?”

 

“If he manages to find someone that will be his partner for a long period of time, I see no problem with him biting his partner _occasionally.”_

“Partner… as in lover? Or wife… or husband?”

 

Haly smiled slightly, “Sex demons would probably prefer multiples of all three. They can feel love as a human does, but it’s very rare that an incubus or succubus would fall for one human – in the case of Marilyn and Jonathan, two demons managed to find each other.”

 

“Can they feed off of each other?”

 

“And procreate – as you can see from Dick. Marilyn and Jonathan… they were two of a kind. Faithful to each other, not feeding off of others. If the sex demons are close, they can feed each other through sex.”

 

“So… Dick finding another demon would be best?”

 

“… Perhaps. It’s rare for demons to attach close bonds to each other – close enough to feed each other, that is.”

 

“Mm. So, he doesn’t have to kill his human partner?”

 

“No, definitely not. He can still feed, but make sure to let him know to only take what he needs. If his partner starts to look too tired, he must immediately sever the bond. No matter how hungry he is.”

 

“What… would be a good age for… you know, him to start having sexual relations?”

 

“Around the average time for a human. Fourteen perhaps.”

 

Bruce nodded, “There’s nothing I can do to make human food more appealing to him?”

 

Haly shook his head. “I’m sorry Bruce. It just won’t be the same. He will eat however, it’s an instinct. He knows that he needs to survive.”

 

“What happens if a sex demon doesn’t have sex? That probably sounds like a foolish question, but if he can survive off of human food…”

 

“It will kill them eventually. A sex demon old enough could go for months without feeding and be healthy, but for Dick… if he’s only fourteen… I’d say three weeks until he starts getting sick. He has to feed.”

 

“But he won’t kill them?”

 

“He won’t if you tell him not to.”

 

Bruce thought this over for a minute. “…This is just so much to take in.”

 

Haly gave him an understanding look. “I know, but it’s worth it in the end. Dick is still a nice, brilliant boy, and he’ll grow into an astounding young man. Don’t shut him out, and keep a close eye on him. It might be best if you homeschooled him.”

 

“What about me?” Bruce suddenly asked. “I mean… if he um… is hungry and I’m the only person around…” He was trying not to show how uncomfortable he felt, but it probably didn’t work.

 

“He might be a sex demon, but even Dick has his limits. He’ll think of you as family.”

 

“But I thought you said sex was just food to him? That he wouldn’t say no to advances from others unless I tell him not to?”

 

“Yes, Dick might be tempted, but he wouldn’t act on it with you. The reason he would sleep with others but not you is because he trusts you and looks up to you, you’re his father now Mr. Wayne.”

 

“That’s good then, I’m relieved to hear that.”

 

Haly chuckled, “So am I.”

 

“How am I supposed to teach him how to control his power?”

 

“Well… first he’s going to have to feel threatened. He can’t just use this power at will, he needs to summon it, and in order to summon it he has to believe there’s a threat.”

 

Bruce frowned, “You want me to lie to him?”

 

“Do what you have to, just make sure that he has it under control before someone becomes insistent.”

 

Bruce thought it over for a minute. He felt bad, but in the end it was protecting both Dick and others. “…I can do that.”

 

“Good. Now, what else?”

 

“How does he feed off of humans during sex?”

 

Haly looked a bit embarrassed. “A sex demon feeds off of the orgasms, namely from the other person, but also from themselves.”

 

“Oh… alright,” Bruce almost regretted asking. “Would he ever… force… if he was hungry…?”

 

“Force a human?” Haly looked unconcerned, although his words were anything but comforting. “Many sex demons have been known to do that. Although, if a demon truly wants their partner to enjoy the sex, they have another power. It’s a sort of charm, the demon will look into the person’s eyes and… well… they’ll use the charm to manipulate the human’s state of emotions. It brings out lust in a human, and pleasure.”

 

“So… all in all, having sex with a sex demon isn’t unpleasant?”

 

Haly shook his head, “No I wouldn’t say that it was unpleasant. Unless the demon was forcing.”

 

Bruce tilted his head, “When I saw Dick in… his… you know.”

 

“Demonic form?”

 

Bruce nodded. “Will he stay like that? Does something invoke that as well?”

 

“He can control it at will, although during this stage in sickness it might creep up on him accidentally. Don’t let him out of the house during this time, and don’t let anybody but yourself be around him. By the end of the ailment, he will have full control over his transformation. Demons usually keep the face and body of their human form, but their eyes will glow and they’ll have horns and a tail. As they grow older around the time they develop fangs, they will also develop wings. A sex demon can choose if it wants them to be invisible or visible.”

 

Bruce kind of felt like fainting, but he still had more questions. “Usually?”

 

Haly looked serious again. “Those demons that force humans? Their demonic side will completely take over, and they’ll change their forms into something horrific. You can’t let that happen to Dick.”

 

“I won’t,” Bruce promised.

 

“Now… you need to know about Dick’s weaknesses.”

 

“Why?” Bruce asked immediately. “I’m not going to harm him.”

 

“I’m not saying you will,” Haly assured him. “But if Hunters were to find him… you need to know what they’ll be carrying and how to stop it. Pure silver will burn their skin – don’t give him anything silver. Change all of your silverware and jewelry and cufflinks to something else. Silver is a poison to them – don’t let him ingest anything with silver either. It will eat him up from the inside out.”

 

Bruce stared at him with wide eyes. “…I understand. Anything else?”

 

“There are these special purple flowers, they don’t have a name they are so unique, but they’ll force a demon to change into their demonic forms and it will poison the demon if the demon is exposed to it for long periods. Hunters enjoy lacing silver blades with the juice of these flowers,” Haly scowled. “I’m sure you can guess what they do with those blades after they catch a demon.”

 

Bruce nodded, somber and trying not to imagine that happening to Dick. “Yes, I can imagine. I won’t let that happen to Dick.”

 

“Good.” Haly gave him a long look. “I’ve told you what I know. If you can think of anything else, do not hesitate to give me a call. If I can’t help you, I will find someone who can.”

 

“Thank you,” Bruce said, suddenly feeling a bit choked with emotion. “I… I wouldn’t have known how to handle him without your help. But I can raise him properly with this knowledge.”

 

Haly gave him a small bow, “Good day Mr. Wayne.”

 

“Good day.” Bruce watched Haly walk away and stayed there for ten more minutes before making his way back to the manor. It was a twenty minute walk, but he was lost in thought. He wasn’t even aware that he had made his way to Dick’s room until he was looking at the miserable boy curled up in his bed. He walked over and put a hand on Dick’s head, which was burning up. Dick peeked up at him, blue eyes alert although his body looked like it was shutting down. “Bruce?”

 

Bruce sat down on the edge of his bed and gave him a serious look. “I need to talk to you about something important, and you have to listen to me carefully.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dick uses his powers accidentally

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Only in the darkness can you see the stars” – Martin Luthor King, Jr.

As soon as Bruce came in the door, he was practically barreled over by Dick, who immediately started sobbing into his shirt. Bruce had no idea what was going on, but he placed a comforting hand on his back in a sort of one-armed hug awkwardly. “Dick, what’s wrong?”

 

“I – I – I’m _sorry,_ ” Dick managed to get out between sobs.

 

“Sorry?” Bruce tried thinking of something that Dick might have done that would invoke this reaction, but for the life of him he couldn’t think of anything. “For what?”

 

Dick wiped at his eyes furiously, but the tears kept coming. “I didn’t _mean_ to – I – I didn’t know what else to do.”

 

Bruce frowned and crouched so he was eye level with the twelve year old. “What happened Dick?”

 

Dick hesitated before mumbling, “I – I used my power against someone and – and I hurt them – and –“

  
“What?” Bruce exclaimed. He hadn’t meant for it to come out scolding, but Dick just started sobbing harder. _Oops._ “Dick, just… start from the beginning. What happened?”

 

Dick was silent for a moment before starting his story.

 

* * *

 

 

_Earlier that day_

Dick was walking on the almost deserted street when a carriage passed by him. He didn’t think anything of it until it stopped just a few feet in front of him. He stopped walking for a moment, glancing around when a man stepped out of the carriage. Before he could make up his mind on whether or not he should walk away the man approached him, giving him a smile. “Hello.”

 

“… Hello, sir.”

 

The man looked like he was in his mid-thirties, and judging by his clothing he was probably middle-class. “What’s a young boy like yourself doing walking around by your lonesome?”

 

“I’m just on my way home.”

 

“Ah, and where would that be?”

 

“Only about a five minute walk,” Dick knew that it was obvious he looked in a higher class, but he wasn’t sure mentioning Bruce Wayne’s name or the manor would be a good idea.

 

“Five minutes? That’s preposterous!” The man looked him up and down. “How about I give you a ride there?”

 

Dick didn’t want to seem impolite, so he tried to act as nice as possible. “With all due respect sir, I can handle a five minute walk.”

 

The man waved him off, “No really, it would be no trouble at all.”

 

Dick walked past him, but the man grabbed his arm. “You know,” he said, dragging Dick to the carriage. “This would have been a lot easier if you had just agreed to come with me.”

 

Dick kicked him in the leg, and the man let out a string of curses before backhanding Dick. It didn’t really hurt (although a normal human would disagree) but Dick stumbled back a few steps from the power behind it.

 

The man glared at him and grabbed Dick by the hair this time, shoving Dick into the carriage through the open doors. The man climbed in after him and pinned Dick down by the shoulders when Dick tried sitting up. “Let me go!” Dick growled, struggling. Even though he was a demon, he was still a child and wasn’t as strong physically as this man was. The man chuckled as though Dick had told him a funny joke and used his weight to keep Dick in place, running his hand through Dick’s hair. Dick flinched away and tried thinking of his options, he didn’t want to hurt the man unless he absolutely had to. So he tried the first thing that came to mind and screamed for help – that’s what Bruce told him to do unless he didn’t have any other options.

 

The man scowled and reached a hand over onto the seat, grabbing a handkerchief and shoving it in Dick’s mouth to gag him. Dick coughed around the makeshift gag, not having expected that and the man used the distraction to start peeling Dick’s pants off. Dick let out muffled protests and kicked at him, but the man didn’t seem bothered by that. Dick squeezed his eyes shut, feeling panic start to bubble into something else. Something worse. He wasn’t sure what it was at first, but he latched onto the feeling until it consumed him and he opened his eyes again, but everything was foggy. Except for the man’s head, which he focused all of his energy on. As though he’d been electrocuted the man threw himself away from Dick, clutching his head. Dick knew that this was his chance to get out, but the feeling just kept getting stronger and he couldn’t seem to separate himself from it. The man was screaming, and that was what snapped Dick out of his stupor. He stared at him for a moment in shock, the fogginess had left and fear rose in him again but this time it was because of himself. _What have I done?_

 

Dick didn’t have time to dwell as he pulled his pants back on fully and jumped out of the carriage. The man was still screaming, writhing on the floor of the carriage and Dick swallowed. He’d practiced before on animals, but the pain for them had only lasted for a few seconds. This seemed… too intense. Worse pain then the animals had been in. _I have to go, I can’t let anyone see me here… but can I just leave him in so much pain?_ Dick panicked, he didn’t know how to help. He didn’t know if he could help _… Bruce is going to be so mad. And disappointed. I… I didn’t know what else to do._

The man had stopped writhing, but he was still screaming. Dick took a few steps back before darting away, racing back to the manor, unable to believe what had just happened and what he’d done in response.

* * *

 

 

Bruce stared at Dick, not really sure what to say. It was so much to take in. But Dick was looking at him with distraught eyes, and Bruce knew that he couldn’t blame Dick for this. Dick was only defending himself, and if this sobbing was anything to go by he hadn’t meant to hurt the man. Although a part of Bruce that was the protective parent part couldn’t help but to think that man deserved whatever Dick did to him.

 

“Dick, I’m not mad at you. It isn’t your fault.”

 

Dick wiped at his eyes some more. “But…”

 

“It’s not your fault. You were just protecting yourself.”

 

Dick looked down, away from Bruce. Bruce tilted his chin up. “You only did what you had to.”

 

Dick stared at him for a moment before nodding. “I know… I still feel bad though.”

 

Bruce couldn’t help but to feel relief at that, although he really shouldn’t want Dick to have to feel bad. “It isn’t your fault,” he repeated. “I’m glad you’re safe.”

 

Dick didn’t really believe him, but he didn’t want Bruce to know that. “Okay…” He gave Bruce a quick hug, thankful that it was returned. He would be okay, he just needed to control himself better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone has any prompts or ideas, feel free to leave a comment or message/ask me on my tumblr:
> 
>  
> 
> [ My tumblr ](https://www.birdbunsjayfish.tumblr.com)


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